Thoughts

Today is the oldest you've ever been, yet the youngest you'll ever be. So, enjoy this day while it lasts, and have a Happy Easter.

And, for those of us in the Winter of our lives, here are some thoughts:

~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!

~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!

~You forget names.... But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!

~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything.... especially golf.

~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.

~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".

~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..

~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???

~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.

~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!

~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

~Everybody whispers.

~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.

~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

Using PennDOT's timetable, the bridge project on Tamaqua's Broad Street will take 18 months to complete, beginning May 20.

No matter how you look at it, that's a long time to be held hostage.

It's going to cost countless headaches for merchants, motorists, residents and visitors to the community.

Eighteen months - we're not engineers, but by doing some simple math we don't think the project has to last that long.

Here's why:

PennDOT officials told Tamaqua officials that they will be working on the project only four days a week, eight hours a day.

"That's unacceptable," said one Tamaqua councilman.

And we agree.

Why can't PennDOT go back to the drawing board and consider these numbers. Instead of a four-day work week, how about a six day work week (they can rest on the Sabbath)? That would whittle the time of the project from 18-months to a completiton date of 12 months.

And, if they worked three, eight hour shifts, instead of one shift that might cut the completion time considerably, maybe even in half, down to six months.

A half-year project isn't ideal, but it's something Tamaqua could live with better than 18 months of tie-ups.

We're not sure if PennDOT realizes what a nightmare this project is going to be. By cutting the time it will take to complete, they will make the nightmare a lot more managable.

Watching Brian Urlacher play for anyone else after 13 years as the star linebacker wi the Chicago Bears will be strange. He rans up there with Dick Butkus as a Chicago icon.

I like it better when Easter comes later, in mid-April. It feels much more like spring. What fun are egg hunts when there's still snow on the ground?

Finally, a funny story to brighten your Saturday.

Hearing Problem

"Doctor, I think my wife is getting hard of hearing."

"I'll have my nurse make an appointment for her, but in the meantime, there's a simple, informal test you can run to give us an idea how bad the problem is. Here's what you do: start out about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone say something and see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response."

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he's in the living room. In a normal tone he asks, "Honey, what's for supper?"

No response.

So the husband moves to the other end of the room and repeats, "Honey, what's for supper?"

Still no response.

Next he moves into the dining room. "Honey, what's for supper?"

No response, so he walks up to the kitchen door. "Honey, what's for supper?"